Gordon Brown stepped into the growing furore over Celebrity Big Brother today describing alleged racist comments made on the programme as “offensive”.

The Chancellor, on a visit to India, was asked about the allegedly racist comments by local reporters during a visit to India, where the row has made front page news.

He said people were right to regard them as “offensive” and added that he condemned anything which harmed Britain’s reputation as a tolerant land.

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He said: “I understand that in the UK there have already been 10,000 complaints from viewers about these remarks, which people see, rightly, as offensive.

“I want Britain to be seen as a country of fairness and tolerance. Anything detracting from this I condemn.”

An aide said the Chancellor had not seen the programmes in which the remarks were made, though he has watched Big Brother in the past. Mr Brown’s remarks add to pressure on Channel 4 bosses to halt alleged racist behaviour on the show towards Shilpa Shetty, 31 the Bollywood film star.

Housemates have ridiculed the Indian film star about her food, accent and exotic behaviour in a way which many feel amounts to racism.

In a statement tonight, Channel 4 said there had been "no overt racial abuse or racist behaviour" directed against Miss Shetty, though in a statement the station did acknowledge that there had "undoubtedly been a cultural and class clash between her and three of the British females in the house".

Channel 4 said: "It is in the nature of Big Brother that conflicts arise and housemates are encouraged to resolve issues among themselves.

"Shilpa has not voiced any concerns of racial abuse to Big Brother. Housemates have access to support from Big Brother at all times."

Media watchdog Ofcom has reported a record 14,500 complaints against the programme, with a further 2,000 contacting Channel 4 to voice their dismay.

The Indian government has also indicated that it plans to raise the issue with Britain after the treatment of the Bollywood star featured in newspapers and television news in the country.

The scenes from the programme have sparked protests in India, with demonstrators filmed burning effigies of “Big Brother organisers” in the street.

In the Commons, Tony Blair told MPs he had not seen the programme but he added: “We should oppose racism in all its forms.”

Ed Balls, the Economic Secretary, added: “The reality is that this programme has gone a bit sour in the last few days. I thought the entry of the celebrity stars on the first night was actually great TV and I’ve always been a bit of a fan of Big Brother.”

“The thing which I think we should stand back and think about, in the last couple of days this has been a major national news story in India, with people talking about Britain with words like racist and, the kind of image it projects if Britain around the world is appalling. I feel ashamed of it.”

A spokesman for the Commission for Racial Equality said: "We are keeping the programme under review and welcome the decision of Ofcom to investigate individual complaints.